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Glossary

Are you a little confused about what’s what on the Nanoozesite? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s a list of definitions for some of the words you might find puzzling. If you don’t find a definition for a term on the Nanooze site, feel free to email us and we’ll update the page.

Atom – The smallest unit of a chemical element, about a third of a nanometer in diameter in diameter. Atoms make up molecules and solid objects.

Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) – An instrument able to image surfaces to molecular accuracy by mechanically probing their surface contours. A kind of proximity probe. (Source)

Carbon Nanotubes – are cylindrical carbon molecules with properties that make them potentially useful in extremely small scale electronic and mechanical applications. They exhibit unusual strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat. Inorganic molecules have also been synthesized. (Source)

Catalyst – A chemical species or other structure that facilitates a chemical reaction without itself undergoing a permanent change.

Chemical Bond – Atoms are held together in a molecule through chemical bonds by sharing and exchanging electrons.

Chip (Microprocessor) – electronic equipment consisting of a small crystal of a silicon semiconductor fabricated to carry out a number of electronic functions in an integrated circuit.

Density – The density of a material is its total mass divided by its total volume. It’s how much of a material fits packed up in as little space as possible.

Development – which is the process step that follows resist exposure, is done to leave behind the correct resist pattern on the wafer which will serve as the physical mask that covers areas on the wafer that need to be protected from chemical attack during subsequent etching, implantation, lift-off, and the like. The development process involves chemical reactions wherein unprotected parts of the resist get dissolved in the developer. A good development process has a short duration (less than a minute), results in minimum pattern distortion or swelling, keeps the original film thickness of protected areas intact, and recreates the intended pattern faithfully. Development is carried out either by immersion developing, spray developing, or puddle developing. Regardless of method used, it should always be followed by thorough rinsing and drying to ensure that the development action will not continue after the developer has been removed from the wafer surface. (Source)

Electron Microscope – An electron-optical instrument that utilizes a beam of electrons, rather than light, to focus on cell surfaces of a very thin specimen to produce an enlarged image on a fluorescent screen or photographic plate. Because resolution (the ability to distinguish adjacent objects as separate) is better and magnification 1,000 times that of an optical light microscope is possible, electron microscopy can help determine the nature of tumors and of kidney disease. (Source)

Electrons – A lightweight particle, carrying a negative electric charge and found in all atoms. Electrons can be energized or even torn from atoms by light and by collisions, and they are responsible for many electric phenomena in solid matter and in plasmas. (Source)

Field Effect Transistor – The field-effect transistor (FET) is a type of transistor that relies on an electric field to control the shape and hence the conductivity of a ‘channel’ in a semiconductor material. The FET can be constructed from a number of semiconductors, silicon being by far the most common. FETs can be used to detect small amounts of chemicals and ions in their environment.(Source)

Fluorescence – Emission of light by excited molecules as they revert to the ground state. (Source)

Light Microscope – Microscope consisting of an optical instrument that magnifies the image of an object.

Luminescence – A phenomena of light emission by a chemical composition which is film-forming and which absorbs light, releasing it when extraneous light sources have been removed; a “glow-in-the-dark” capability.

Mayonnaise – A thick, creamy emulsion of vegetable oil, egg yolks, and seasonings. This product is called “salad dressing” if no eggs are used. Commercial mayonnaise must contain at least 65% oil by weight. Mayonnaise is of French origin.

Molecule – Group of atoms held together by chemical bonds, the typical unit manipulated by nanotechnology.

Nanometer – A nanometer is a measure of length. 1 nm = 0.000000001 meter (1 billionth of a meter).

Nanoparticles – A nanoparticle is a microscopic particle whose size is measured in nanometers (nm). It is defined as a particle with at least one dimension less than 200nm. (Source)

Nanotechnology – Technology development at the atomic, molecular, or macromolecular range of approximately 1-100 nanometers to create and use structures, devices, and systems that have novel properties.

Nanobot – A nanotechnological robot nanomachine, also called a nanite, which is a mechanical or electromechanical device whose dimensions are measured in nanometers (millionths of a millimeter, or units of 10-9 meter.

Photoresist – A light sensitive material used in several industrial processes, such as photolithography and photoengraving to form a patterned coating on a surface. Photoresists are classified into two groups, positive resists, in which the exposed areas become more soluble in specific chemical solutions (resist developers) and are removed in the developing process, and negative resists, in which only the exposed areas become resistant to the developer, so the unexposed areas are removed during the developing process . (Source)

Polymer – A generic term used to describe a substantially long molecule–basically a”chain” molecule made up of many “links”. This long molecule consists of structural units and repeating units strung together through chemical bonds. The process of converting these units to a polymer is called polymerization. These units consist of monomers, which are typically small molecules of low molecular weight. Plastics are one common type of polymer; their properties can change dramatically depending on the length of the “chain” and the types of “links”. (Source)

Quantum Dots – A crystal of semiconductor compound (eg. CdSe, PbS) with a diameter on the order of the compound’s Exciton Bohr Radius. Quantum dots have a range of useful electrical and optical properties that diverge in character from those of bulk material. Quantum dots are between 2 and 10 nanometers wide (10 and 50 atoms).

Semiconductor – A substance which is intermediate between a conductor and an insulator such as silicon. (Source)

Space Elevator–also known as a space bridge, is a (hypothetical) fixed structure from the Earth’s surface into space for carrying payloads. (Source)

Transistor – Transistors are tiny electrical devices that can be found in everything from radios to robots. They have two key properties: 1) they can amplify an electrical signal and 2) they can switch on and off, letting current through or blocking it as necessary. (Source)